Margate Tax Rate May Stay Stable

Property Values Fuel 2.5 Percent Budget Growth

Margate — Some of the numbers will change, but, for the most part, Margate's residents will get last year's services at last year's prices in this year's budget

The city's proposed 2004 budget, with $71.3 million in spending, is about 2.5 percent over the 2003 budget. The city commission is expected to vote to approve the budget on Wednesday.

"It's a lean budget, a good budget," said Mayor Frank Talerico. "We're not cutting service back, and we're not raising taxes or fees."

The city's property tax rate will fall from $6.86 to $6.79 per $1,000 in taxable value, but tax payments might creep up slightly. Margate saw its total assessed valuation go up 8.6 percent while assessments across Broward County rose a record-shattering 12 percent.

Some of the increase in the budget comes from a boost in the fire department's budget. Hoping to keep more firefighters by raising salaries, the city will increase its payroll by about nine percent. An increase in the city's fire assessment, approved in July, will more than cover the added expense.

The city's information technology department and transportation and aquatics divisions will see measurable increases in their budgets, while most departments will see their spending either largely unchanged or reduced.

In his written budget message, city manager Leonard Golub said he believed residents felt the city's services were at an appropriate level and would prefer to see costs limited rather than services added.

"This is a bare bones budget," Golub said. "We're still going to be able to provide what our citizens need at a reasonable cost."

With the nation's economy still hard to read, Golub said city investments were diversified sufficiently for Margate to weather almost any future fluctuations. The budget, he added, was structured to insulate the city against lower revenues and unexpected costs.

Kevin Smith can be reached at kssmith@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2009.